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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25358668">The Secret</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gimmeran21/pseuds/Gimmeran21'>Gimmeran21</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Sweetheart [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>NCIS</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Brain Damage, Cats, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, Jealousy, M/M, mental disability</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 08:15:40</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>963</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25358668</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gimmeran21/pseuds/Gimmeran21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Jethro has a fall and keeps a secret from Tony.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Anthony DiNozzo/Jethro Gibbs</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Sweetheart [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1687855</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>59</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Secret</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>With thanks to rose_malmaison for the original idea from her story "Give Me a Hug."</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Gibbs looked balefully into the innocent green eyes of the author of his misfortune as she sat on the rug. He knew that cats had too few muscles in their faces to show expressions like human beings. He’d learned that when he’d been investigating buying a cat for Tony but he could have sworn there was a look of triumph mixed with satisfaction on her face.</p>
<p>Gibbs wasn’t imaginative or creative in the way Tony was, or rather, had been. He thought of some of the tall stories Tony had told to explain why he was late for work or him describing fancifully what he’d been up to in his spare time. So Gibbs had had a hard time believing that a cat, an actual four-legged creature hated him and that he was jealous of said animal as well.</p>
<p>She’d started by making nice with Gibbs but had soon made it clear where her affections lay, which was alright by him as she was Tony’s cat but then she’d started the habit of climbing up him using her needle-sharp claws as leverage and also regularly got between Tony and him when they were making out. Then there had been the times when she’d jump up onto his shoulder just when he was trying to shave and making him nick himself.</p>
<p>He was on the level with the animal because he was now on the floor covered in hot coffee and with an agonisingly painful ankle. He’d been taking a cup of coffee through from the kitchen to the living room when he’d suddenly felt something weaving round his ankles but had taken evasive action too late and he’d fallen.</p>
<p>He’d just managed to suppress a string of oaths before Tony came up to him, anxious and worried.</p>
<p>“Jethro, I heard the noise from the den. Are you alright? What happened?”</p>
<p>“Kitty tripped me up and I fell and I’ve done something to my ankle.”</p>
<p>“I’ll get you up and onto the couch.”</p>
<p>So they’d made their way slowly to the couch with Gibbs trying to stop moaning with the pain.</p>
<p>“I’ll get an ice pack. Do you want me to get Alix?”</p>
<p>“Yeah. She’ll be able to see what’s wrong.” Although he knew he’d at least got a bad sprain as his ankle was swelling rapidly.</p>
<p>At that moment Kitty jumped straight on to his injured ankle and Gibbs nearly left the couch with the pain.</p>
<p>“Get that animal off me and put her in the den.”</p>
<p>“Jethro, there’s no need to shout. She didn’t know it would hurt you.”</p>
<p>Jethro thought. “Oh no? I’d swear she knew exactly what she was doing.”</p>
<p>As he expected once Alix came over she diagnosed a bad sprain and complimented Tony on his first aid skills which luckily he had not forgotten.</p>
<p>She bandaged the ankle and said, “What painkillers do you have in the house? You’ll certainly need them for the next few days.”</p>
<p>“Advil and the good stuff left over from when Tony was stabbed.”</p>
<p>“I suggest that today you use the good stuff. I assume you don’t have the same reaction with them that you told me Tony has?”</p>
<p>“Nope. Thank goodness.” The memory of Tony’s behaviour when he was on the good stuff brought a smile to his face despite the pain.</p>
<p>“I’m sorry about Kitty. Kitty, my darling come here, sweetie. Did naughty Jethro frighten you?”</p>
<p>Gibbs thought bitterly about the fact that Tony only ever called him Jethro because to him that name meant love, acceptance and home. Fine, but it would have been nice if he could have spared some of the endearments he used on the wretched animal on him.</p>
<p>“Tony, take her to the den.”</p>
<p>Tony looked up at that. Jethro rarely called him by his given name and he knew that to do that he must really be in pain.</p>
<p>Tony took the protesting animal to the den and when he got back, sat on the couch with Gibbs’s head in his lap, stroking his hair.</p>
<p>“Shall I help you to bed? You’ll be more comfortable there.”</p>
<p>“No, I’ll be fine here but you’d better keep Kitty away from me.”</p>
<p>“Why?”</p>
<p>“Because if you don’t, I swear I’ll swing for her,” he thought to himself.</p>
<p>“She might jump up and jolt my ankle again.”</p>
<p>“Oh. But I’ll have to go in the den to keep her company or take her to see Jasper or she’ll get lonely.”</p>
<p>“Sweetheart, you do that but you won’t forget me will you?”</p>
<p>Seeing the worried look on Tony’s face, Jethro turned round, ignoring the protest from his ankle and forced himself up enough to look Tony in the face.</p>
<p>“I know you wouldn’t my love and I’m so grateful for that.”</p>
<p>So Tony took his beloved cat to see Jasper at Alix and Callum’s cottage.</p>
<p>“She’s feeling better now she’d got Jasper to play with. Alix will bring her back in a couple of hours.”</p>
<p>“That’s nice.” Jethro was amazed at how good he was at lying to Tony.</p>
<p>“So we can have some time to ourselves while the painkillers get to work.”</p>
<p>“Yes, but I don’t want Kitty to feel left out.”</p>
<p>“I’m sure she won’t.” </p>
<p>When they’d got together they’d made the usual promises between couples of never keeping anything from each other subject of course to the usual exceptions of what they were getting each other for Christmas and so on. Now with Tony’s brain injury there were the further exceptions of Tony often keeping his need for help from Gibbs and Gibbs keeping his worries about Tony from his husband.</p>
<p>Jethro resigned himself to the fact that now he was going to have to keep another secret from Tony. He and the cat loathed each other.</p>
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